Australia is set to export about 78 million tons of LNG this year, according to the latest edition of a quarterly bulletin issued by the country’s Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. This is likely to make it the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), edging Qatar, which is expected to ship around 75 million tons, out of the top spot, the bulletin said.
The department added a caveat to its forecast, saying it could not be 100% certain of this outcome since it did not have confirmed data on Qatari LNG exports. It also acknowledged that Australia would not remain in first place for long since both Qatar and the US are building new export facilities that will put them ahead by the middle of the next decade.
The bulletin further noted that the value of Australian LNG exports was set to decline to A$49 billion in the fiscal year 2019-2020 and then drop again to A$47 billion in FY 2020-2021. Weak oil prices are likely to help pull earnings down since Australia exports most of its LNG under contracts that link LNG prices to crude, it noted.